Author's Note: I finally got time to type this up. Hope you guys like this chapter. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I have no Naruto ownership.


Castle of Sand


Kakashi sat at his desk filling out forms and signing papers. Due to Sasuke's absence, the King's paperwork had been left untouched and begun to pile up leaving Kakashi the only one to do it. Papers scattered themselves around his seated form and stayed in partically stable stacks. He hated doing this type of work, but someone had to do it. Although he decided to take on the task, he was officially pissed at his pupil for leaving so many behind for him to do.

The door of his office was slammed open and all the papers in their stacks flew in crazy directions. Kakashicursed under his breath and tried to maintain a level head as he placed his quill pen gently on his desk. He folded his arms in front of him and glanced up at the person who decided to intrude in such a way. Of course, it was none other than Iruka. The man was the only one allowed into the seneschal's room when he was doing paperwork. However, Kakashi wasn't too happy about is friend's appearance due to the papers now mixed up on the floor.

"Yes?" Kakashi sharply stated, his one eye narrowing.

"She's gone!" Iruka proclaimed after apologizing for interrupting. "Sakura just up and departed last night."

Kakashi sighed and started to neatly stack what papers were left on his desk. "I know."

"I can't believe she would disobey you like th-wait...you know?"

"I figured that she would find someway to escape anyway," Kakashi explained. "And its not like we don't know where she is going. Shikamaru is with her."

Iruka's jaw dropped. "How do you already know these things?"

"A guard saw Shikamaru and a woman leaving the castle last night. He said that the woman had pink hair and due to the fact that Sakura's hair is completely rare, how could it not be true?"

"I suppose so," Iruka agreed. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Let her go to Suna. She's probably already on her way there anyway," the seneschal laid out. "When Shikamaru's done doing his job, I'll have him bring her back."

Iruka nodded, however he felt like there was more to Sakura'sleaving then both of them thought. Sasuke had left without saying anything. What if he hinted for Sakura to do the same thing or something like that? Maybe she knew where he really was and was going to meet him. There was just something suspicious about it all. He had to do some snooping around later for some more answers.

"Well, I hope she comes back soon," Iruka finally said." I'll see you later."

"Wait a sec, aren't you going to help pick these papers up?" Kakashiasked almost pleading. "You can help me with the paperwork!"

"Ha-ha, sorry Kakashi not this time," Iruka stated taking his leave, shutting the door hard and having the papers swish around again.

Kakashi cursed and stood up looking around his office. He glanced down at the plant on his desk and sighed.

"I hate my job Mr. Ukki," he told the plant.


Sakura felt completely out of place in the King of the Land of Wind's throne room. The king himself was not present, but the fact that Temari and Shikamaru were conversing like old friends made her uneasy. She felt like she was a burden here, someone of no importance. Servants and officials would walk in and look at her like an anomally. The medic fidgetted in the borrowed outfit Temari lent her. It was light weight, but the material made her itch. Even more so, it was sort of flimsy and exposing. It was for the heat, but she felt awkward in them. It was just something she wasn't used to wearing in public.

She could see her pale arms through the material around her arms and the binding around her chest. The sleeves were cut off at the shoulders with tiny trinkets sown at the ends. Her shirt was a piece of lace that was dark enough to sort of hid her binding even though it wrapped around the same place as the binding itself and a cokerwas placed around her neck. The skirt around her was not actually a skirt, but rather a cloth tied shortly around her waist. Puffy pants replaced the lower half of her attire and was made of silk. And more than anything, she was barefoot. In fact, everyone was. The surface of the tiles in the roof were gritted from the sand that was carried in. Sakura felt the itch return and tried to scratch it.

"Stop that," Temari snapped at her like a mother would to her child. "If you mess with it, then it'll get messed up."

"Sorry," Sakuralightly voiced. She was nervous about meeting this other king. A side door opened and she held her breath.

Out walked three people. One was a man witha strange hat and face paint. She first thought that this man could be the king, but she was still unsure. Next to him was a shorter man withshort red hair. His eyes were ringed with thick blackness. He was followed closely by a young girl not much younger than herself. This girl clung to the side of the red haired man and followed him to the throne. The face paint man stopped on one side of the throne and stood there at the left side. The girl went to the right and knelled on a pillow right beside it. And lastly, the red haired man to the throne itself. When he turned to face the three people before him, Sakura noticed a tattoo on his forehead. It seemed to be self-inflicted.

"Hello Shikamaru," the red-head said without emotion."Welcome back."

"Hello to you too, Your Majesty," Shikamaru said with a bow. "I'm afraid I'm here on official business Gaara."

"The sighting I presume," the king indifferently put."He came to my court not to long ago."

"So he was here?" Sakura suddenly interjected.

"...yes," Gaara voiced almost irritated. "Who are you?"

Sakura's voice caught itself in her throat. She seemed to have angered him by speaking outloud. It was hard to form the words to speak her name. She was so nervous about meeting this king, that she just couldn't say anything. It was different talking to Sasukethough. She had spent time with him and got to know him a little bit. Why was it so hard to speak?

"This is Sakura Haruno," Shikamaru said much to Sakura's relief." She is a medic and a close friend of Sasuke's. I let her tag along with me here when we heard of his presence here."

"I see," the king retorted, leaning over on the right side of the throne and resting his head on his hand. The girl by his side poured water into a dish-like cup and handed it to the king. He took it with a nod and drank. Gaara looked up at Sakura with a blank expression.

"Do not speak unless spoken to in this court room," he explained to her. "And women should keep quiet at all times in this place too, especially foreigners."

The medic, nodding, gulped. She didn't realize how finicky this place was. She had a right to have a say in certain matters, but at the same time she was afraid of Gaara's future actions if she was to speak. Sakura decided that it was best to keep quiet.

Gaara stiffly pressed his back against the sandy-colored throne and once against focused on Shikamaru.

"He asked me about the scrolls."

Shikamaru shifted in his stance, placing his hand up next to face in curiousity.

"What scrolls?" he stated, slightly looking up at the king and still in thought.

"The ones on the Uchiha family," Gaara emphasized. "You know how the Uchiha once controlled the whole continent once. The family recorded ever aspect of their history and memebers on those scrolls dating to before the murder of Sasuke's parents."

"I see. Can I take a look at these scrolls?"

"If they're still there after he left, yes."

The Ambassador nodded his thanks and started to slip out of the room. Sakura and Temari followed close behind, but Gaara stopped them.

"Sakura, was it?" he asked the rosette. "Shikamaru said that you are a medic in Konoha?"

She nodded, unsure weither or not to speak.

"I would like it if you would meet with my medical advisors and compare notes. Konoha is well known for its healing techniques and you might want to see if there are some differences in our work."

The medic slightly smirked and once again nodded. Gaara waved her off and she qucikly stepped out of there. Shikamaru and Temari were waiting for her in the hall.

"I'll show you where the medical department is," Temari informed her. "But I have to warn you, everyone in there sounds like a drone and are extremely old. They'll bore you."

"Thanks," Sakuramuttered under her breath. "Can't I come and see the scrolls too though?"

"I'm afraid not," Shikamarusadly explained."You've experienced how women are treated here. You're lucky that you are even allowed to go and speak with the medical advisors."

"But Temari seems to have freedom around here and she's a woman," Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm royalty," Temari objected. "However, I still have restrictions too. I'm not allowed to hold any noble position, speak to my brother in a public place, or even live alone. Hell, even I can't see these scrolls either."

"Well, can't you sneak me in at night, Shikamaru?" the rosette asked.

"No, but I can tell you what I learn after I take a look at them," he told her.

Sakura huffed and scrambled for something in a pouch that was attached to her tied skirt. She lifted a piece of parchment out and placed it in the Ambassador's hands.

"What's this?" he asked opening it.

"Itachi's letter to Sasuke," she said. She carried both Itachi's and Sasuke'sletter with her in the pouch. They were supposed to be a secret, something that she was only to know and to figure out the meanings to. At least, she felt like they were. "You might find it helpful when looking at the scrolls."

"How did you get this?"

"I did a little bit of my own investigating in Sasuke's room when I arrived. Just take a look at it."

Shikamaru nodded and Temari led Sakura away to the medical department.


It turned out that Temari was right. The entire staff of medical advisors were old men (another male dominanted postion) and quite frankly, they were boring Sakura to death. They were reluctant to talk to her at first, being both a foreginer and a female. However, as she began to explain the methods of her healing experience, the medics started to talk to her about their techinques. She thought it was interesting at first, hearing their way of doctoring, but then they began to critique her styles.

They would tell her that she was wrong in doing this one method and then explain how they would do it. Sakura began to see similarities in the mediums of their work and tuned out on their words of "wisdom" as they liked to put it. Though, when they told her that they would like it if she would help them make medicines for different ailments, she instantly agreed. This was one thing that they didn't question her on.

As she crushed plants to pour into a bowl, a man walked in. He was the one that was in the throne room with the face paint and weird hat. He stopped by Sakura's station and cleared his throat. She looked up and greeted him.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she said, her voice shaky. He was indeed an authority figure and this made her hesitant.

"I am Kankuro, Duke of Suna," he addressed himself. "I saw you in the throne room not to long ago."

"Y-yes," Sakura replied. "I'm Sakura."

"I know," he said with a small smile. "I just want to apologize for my brother's behavior before."

"It's not a problem. I didn't know the regulations here so-your brother?"

"Yeah, the King is my brother. Is that a problem?"

"No! It's just that you look so much older than he is."

"That's because I am and since I think your going to ask, I didn't take the throne because I didn't think I could handle it."

"Well I wasn't really wondering that at all," Sakura retorted kindly hoping that he didn't hear the lie in her voice.

"Anyways," Kankurocontinued with the apology. "Gaara likes to do follow the old way of life in Suna. Its just the way he is, so don't take any offense if he restricts you from doing something."

Sakura smiled brightly. "I understand."

Kankuro consented her words and walked to the doorway. He stopped in mid-step and looked back at her.

"You know I heard this really interesting rumor today," he said in a sly tone. "Apparently the guards around the historic vaults where all the documents are held tend to leave their posts around midnight-ish so they can rotate personal. It takes them an hour or so to do it, imagine that."

With that said, the Duke left the room leaving behind a conspiring Sakura.


The cloak she had brought along was fastened around her shoulders with the hood lifted , the medic checked outside her room for any movement. When no one proceeded from each end of the hall, she quietly closed her door behind her and tiptoed to the left.

Her feet slid across the floor silently as she made her way around the castle. She had to find the vaults before midnight and sneak inside. She only wished that Kankuro had told her where they were. She took a guess and proceeded down the left corridor. A door approached her view after a while and the medic attempted to figure out if it was the right one. If it wasn't, well she didn't want to think about that quite yet.

Her hand grasped the knob, her palm wet with anxiety. The door opened to a point in which she could peek inside. From what she could seem, book cases lined every wall. There were desks to do research circling a fountain in the middle that silently drizzled. She stepped inside, closing the door like the one she had previously.

To find the scrolls Gaara had spoke of, she figured that the literature would be in alphabetical order. She picked a random side and went on from there. So far there was nothing, even under U. Sakuralet out an irritated breath, continuing on with her search.

Maybe they're hidden somewhere. She thought eyeing the room.

She began to run her hand between every nook and craney, but found nothing. She had almost given up hope until she spotted a weird marking on the wall. It was circular, protruding out from the hidden corner of a column. The mark consist of a crescent moon on its side with an awkwardly shaped building on top. Engraved vines snaked around the backside of the castle and made sort of a cradle above it. In the center was an eye, open in an internal stare. Her fingers pressed against this mark and it gave way to the pressure of her hand.

There was a cracking noise and the sound of water ceased from the fountain. The rosette walked over to the contraption and leaned in closer to see. The bottom declined into a tight swirl of stairs leading down into a dark and endless pit. Grabbing a torch from the room's wall, Sakura slowly descended into the fountain's depths.

The blur of light from the torch barely lit the new room, but she knew where she was. It had to be the vault, she was certain of it. The air was musky from the ancient texts and tickled her nose. She brought the torch up to one shelf and read the name of the scrolls it held. From that shelf on, she searched for the Uchiha's hidden history.

Her eyes drooped with sleep, but she refused to give up. Kankuro had said that she had about an hour to do this, so she had to hurry. She scanned each scroll frantically and finally found the one she was looking for in the far back part of the vault. She pulled the scroll from its slot and began to read it.

It started from the making of the Uchiha clan and worked its way to the conquering of cities. There was nothing useful so far, yet she kept reading. Her eyes darted quickly from each word and stopped abruptly. A name had popped out at her and leaked its usefulness. His name was Madara.

His life was full of promise until one day it went astray. He was too cocky about the power that his family held and wanted to expand it. The man spoke of a society of perfection, one that the Uchiha could create. All the Uchiha had to do was eliminate those that were unpure. However, this man saw that every person except his own family had comminted an impurity. The family told him that his methods were unethical and too radical for them to pursue. He lashed out at them, killing his own brother in the process. The man was then exiled and perhaps never heard from again.

However, Sakura thought differently. She believed that this man could possibly be the one that Itachi was talking about. The birth date of the man on the scroll made it true that he could possibly be alive somewhere in the world.

She rolled the parchment back up and placed it in its spot. The girl had to hurry for she didn't know how much time she had left before the guards were to appear. Up the spiral stairs she went and went directly to the mark on the wall to close the vault right back up. She relaxed when the water from the fountain started up again and filled the room with the calming sounds of running water.

Then came the sound that pierced her ears and quickened her heart. A blood-curtling scream echoed throughout the city and as quick as it came, halted without a trace. Sakurafound a window in the room and looked out its bluish-green hue. In the distance, on the cliffs in which she had entered, the medic saw a body drop.


Author's Note:Well there you have it, King Gaara of the Sand (sounds kinda nice too). Sorry though, Sakuradoesn't meet up with Sasukeyet and it might be a while before she does. I'm just setting it up for certain things to unravel before she does. Oh, and what's up with the body, eh? *Twilight Zone theme* (I'm such a dork XD) Anyway, the title is based off of Kanon Wakeshima's song for the ending theme of Vampire Knight Guilty. It's a real pretty song so check it out if you haven't heard it yet. Like always, please review. :)